Media says:   Ssshhh, nothing to see here…. move along, move along……

VIRGINIA BEACH Virginia Beach police made nearly 150 arrests stemming from a rowdy and violent weekend at the oceanfront featuring large crowds for an event that city officials knew little about in advance.

At least eight people were injured Saturday night and early Sunday morning when there were several shootings, stabbings and robberies.

Police estimate between 30,000 and 40,000 people congregated at the oceanfront for an event known as College Beach Weekend 2013.

“It was just a drunk mess,” Cate Major, a sales associate at 17th Street Surf Shop told the Virginian-Pilot . “I’ve never seen the oceanfront so packed. Ever.”

Fliers advertised hotel and party specials at private businesses for students at Virginia universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Norfolk State and Hampton. The events did not require city permits, and city officials say they were caught off guard by the size of the crowds.

Deputy Police Chief Bill Dean said officers made calls to local schools and Greek organizations when they heard rumors there would be a large gathering, but they didn’t have much information to go on.

“We didn’t really know who to reach out to,” Dean said. “We were just kind of hearing rumors.”

Some business owners say the weekend was reminiscent of Greekfest, a Labor Day party for students from historically black colleges in 1989 that led to rioting, looting and a National Guard presence at the oceanfront. Business owners said there were uncontrollable crowds, fighting, open-air drinking and marijuana use. City leaders disputed that assessment, saying those involved were likely local residents attracted to the event, and not college students.

“The tenor of this crowd was a lot different than the tenor of the crowds that we faced at Greekfest, and I think our strategy was a little different this time,” Dean said. “It was more of a feel that we were there with the crowd this time as opposed to we were there opposing the crowd.”

Rosalind Campbell, head manager of the Sunsations shop, said the crowd was disrespectful, vulgar and belligerent. When a Sunsations saleswoman left to get dinner, she was groped in the street by a stranger and quickly returned to the store, Campbell said.

Later on, fights broke out near her store and police used pepper spray, making her and a co-worker sick, she said.

A few blocks away, a 7-Eleven was flooded with 100 people at time and items were stolen, according Mona Liza Solis, who worked that Saturday night. Solis said when employees tried to let just 10 customers in at a time, those waiting outside pushed and pounded the doors.

At Flipper McCoy’s arcade, people poured in to use the bathrooms and plug in their cellphones, trashing the bathrooms, according to Joe Horton, the arcade’s operations manager. When Horton closed the bathrooms, people started urinating on the carpet and outside in an alley, he said.

“The language and the behavior was just atrocious,” Horton said.

Daqwan Johnson, Kevon Perry, Kendall Jones and Keone Perry

From Friday until Sunday 148 people were arrested and a total of 181 felony charges, misdemeanor charges and traffic summons’ were issued. (link)

Dean and Police Chief Jim Cervera were at the oceanfront when the first shots rang out shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday in front of closed shops on Atlantic Avenue. Police were helping the victim when somebody was stabbed near a Dairy Queen three blocks away. The incidents didn’t seem to be connected, Dean said.

Throughout the night, there were 325 calls between 6 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday. That’s about four times the amount they got the same days last year.

Councilman Bill Desteph will conduct a town hall meeting tonight at the Virginia Beach Convention Center to discuss the events that led to the violence.  (link)